PLEASE HELP ME, I WANT TO BE A HAPPY AND LOVING PUPPY AGAIN!!!

This forum is for dog lovers seeking everyday advice and suggestions on health-related issues. Remember, however, that advice on a public forum simply can't be a substitute for proper medical attention. Only your vet can say assuredly what is best for your dog.

Jake gets his parasite shot tomorrow. But there's so many anti-bodies trying to fight the parasite, that it's making him sick. So the dog is "allergic to himself". He'll need to be put on a special diet for 6 months to a year to clear everything from his system. Nothing showed up in his poop because the parasite is not shedding. They cannot identify the specific parasite because it is not prevalent in the biopsies. But they did something parasitic.

Poor guy! If they are ever able to identify the parasite please do let us know!! The treatment plan does not sound like it is going to be much fun for any of you but if it makes him happy and healthy again I'm sure it is well worth it to you, it certainly would be for me. and please keep us posted on his progress.

With the start of a “New Year” upon us, it is time for closure. First I want to say “Thank you” to each and every one of you, who had posted thoughts and prayers for Jake. Also, for the all the advice that was given.

I am very, very sad to tell you that Jake did not make it. Jake was put to sleep on Sept. 13, 2013. Jake was 6 years and 7 months old when he died. The decision was very difficult, he was suffering so much and none of the treatments seem to be doing any good. We brought him home and buried him with his favorite toy, his mooing cow. This has been a difficult time for all of us who were a part of his family. We are still trying to come to grips with his passing.

May: We took him to Arkansas last fall and they felt it was necessary to test for the southern strain of fungal disease. This test was also negative and still on p r e d n i s o n e 20mg & 2 daily metronidazole 500mg tablets. Jake is hardly eating and we were trying to give him anything we thought he would eat. He did have his good days and bad with his eating.

June: Took him for a 2nd opinion @ UW Madison Veterinary Hospital. I did present them with a copy of all his records from our vet. They ran a series of tests on Jake, they had him all day. We were told that the test results would take a few days. We got a call that the tests were inconclusive. They asked permission to send his lab work to a pathologist and then so they ran all the fungal disease tests again, think that the fungal disease was dormant when the first ones were originally run. He is still on p r e d n i s o n e 20mg & 2 daily metronidazole 500mg tablets. Jake’s appetite is still not good.

July: Finally discover an intestinal parasite that didn’t shed (still today they have no clue what it is, how he got it, where it came from, or how long he had it). He was given anti parasite drugs, still on p r e d n i s o n e 20mg 3 times a day (60mg total) for thickened intestines and 2 daily metronidazole 500mg tablets. Jake’s appetite is still not good, even with favorites and even trying baby food (meat based) that the hospital recommended. He is acting like it hurts to chew even the slightest.

August: The last half of the month, we started weaning him off the p r e d n i s o n e to 40 mg daily for 30 days. Good and bad days, eating then not, still vomiting, diarrhea with blood, skin & coat problems and now we realize that he was having muscle wasting , from the p r e d n i s o n e, this is why he was having so much trouble eating.

September: He had heavy blood in his stool and throwing up. By the time we took him to our vet, Jake had lost 1/3 of his weight, he was starving to death. He was starting to show behavioral changes (restlessness and anxiety), not controlling his bowels and kept running away to the creek (he loved to jump in, on our property), wanting to be alone. She (the vet) agreed it was time.

Is the cure what killed Jake, or maybe by the time they figured out what was wrong with him it was too late?! We will never know!
Jake had very good days, bad days, good days and some very bad days, he often showed signs of hope and that is what we constantly prayed for. But I do know that he will be waiting for all of us at the rainbow bridge with his stubber(tail)wagging like crazy and love in his eyes and heart